CHICAGO – The Steppenwolf Theatre of Chicago continues to provide different viewpoints on the American stage, and their latest “Little Bear Ridge Road” is no exception. Featuring ensemble member Laurie Metcalf, it’s the resonate story of a family at the crossroads. For tickets/details, click LITTLE BEAR.
Podtalk: Producer Stephanie Buxbaum on Her Adventures in Reality & Doc Series Television
- A&E
- Amazing Race
- BET
- Big Brother
- College Hill
- Documentary Series
- Gene Simmons: Family Jewels
- HBO
- Hell on the Highway
- HollywoodChicago.com Content
- Interview
- Lionsgate
- MTV
- National Geographic Channel
- Outpost
- Patrick McDonald
- Podcast
- Podtalk
- Producer
- Reality TV
- Stephanie Buxbaum
- Taking the Stage
- Unscripted
CHICAGO – In the history of “Reality TV” there has been periods of up-and-down popularity, shows that have been around seemingly forever (“Big Brother,” “Amazing Race”) and spinoffs to new styles like “documentary series” as networks like the National Geographic Channel emerged. In all those permutations, producer Stephanie Buxbaum has experienced it all, and has the career and stories to prove it.
Buxbaum began her career as a performer, transferring from classical acting training to the nuts-and-bolts of the show business industry through the University of Southern California. After graduation, she worked in musical theater, but always was challenging herself by learning other dynamics of the film and television business. This led to an associate producer gig on “Big Brother” in 2000, which began her (as she calls it) “unscripted TV show” career.
Executive Producer Stephanie Buxbaum
Photo credit: Sunday Brunch Productions
Since then, she has had many level of producer titles – through her Sunday Brunch Productions – with a variety of networks, on diverse shows including “College Hill” (BET Network), “Gene Simmons: Family Jewels” (A&E), “Taking the Stage” (MTV), “Hell on the Highway” (National Geographic) and “Outpost” (HBO). She is currently a Consulting Producer at Lionsgate Studio.
In Part One of a Podtalk with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Producer Stephanie Buxbaum talks about the distinction between reality shows and documentary series, and her production roles in both categories.
In Part Two, she relates an anecdote about a show incident on National Geographic, and her former career as a film and stage musical performer.
By PATRICK McDONALD |